Alien: Isolation can easily be argued as one of the best horror games of the 2010s. It managed to help to move the genre away from the jumpscare fest of games like Five Nights at Freddy’s and the more action-based tension in titles such as Resident Evil 6, and instead towards the survival horror atmosphere that has captivated gamers for decades. Sadly, it never got the sequel it deserved due to low sales and at-the-time divisive reviews. Now, though, Alien: Isolation 2 is finally upon us. I was able to play 15 minutes of the game during Gamescom 2026, and so far, it is looking like this sequel may end up being the worth the wait.
Alien: Isolation 2 takes place just a few months after the events of the first game. You play as Blake, whose backstory and occupation are currently ambiguous. What we do know is that she works for Weyland-Yutani, the series’ malevolent corporation, and is sent to investigate a crash landing on the planet LV-921. As she investigates the crash landing, she soon realizes it is a jettisoned fragment of a space station once known as the Sevastopol. Right as you, the player, start to put the pieces together on where this fragment came from, the star of the show makes its triumphant return: the Xenomorph.
Yes, not only are you returning to the remnants of the Sevastopol from the first game, but the initial Alien that was jettisoned from it is also making a return. In addition, you are now forced to avoid the Alien across the surface of a rain-covered planet, rather than a cramped station. That said, the demo I played mostly focused on the Alien’s return in a cramped space, and just how differently it feels compared to its predecessor. Considering Alien: Isolation was initially released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, needless to say the differences are immediately apparent.
For starters, the visuals are gorgeous. There is a lot more detail in the faces of characters, such as the members of Blake’s crew that she briefly interacts with. That detail extends to the environment, with the rain-soaked planet of LV-921 serving as the perfect backdrop for this new entry in the series. The rain itself isn’t just a treat to look at, though; it made it even harder to see the path forward and if there were any dangers around me, which further added to the tension that Alien: Isolation 2 successfully tormented me with throughout my time with it.
Gameplay wise, it was hard to immediately notice the changes that were made in that regard. I suspect that more of the new mechanical adjustments will be made clear in the future. For now, though, I did notice that broken switches are now directly repaired with items that you find in the environment, rather than a quick-time event. Further, the time it takes to save at a station is now instantaneous, and does not lead to a pop-up menu asking which file you’d like to place your data in. These changes may be subtle, but they go a long way in making this game feel more “next-gen” than its predecessor.
Then, there’s the Alien itself. Even if I never got spotted by the Alien, I was holding my breath every time I just barely managed to avoid it. The sounds of it running through the hallways and jumping into the vents may be the same, but it still managed to get my blood-pumping in ways few horror games are able to, even to this day. This claustrophobic space being where you first encounter the Alien was a great way to usher both myself and fans back into the gameplay loop, as it hearkens back to the Sevastopol setting. However, if the tension of this short demo is any indication, then the full release may be absolutely horrifying considering the new, more open, locale.
Even if the demo did not show all of the ways in which Alien: Isolation 2 differs from its predecessor, the subtly updated mechanics and visuals were more than enough to make me incredibly excited for the full release. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will turn out to be even better than the original Alien: Isolation, which could mean that we are in for yet another genre-defining horror game. I will eagerly await the day in which I, and many others, will finally get a chance to play Alien: Isolation 2 in full when it releases for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
